1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle ramp system for elevating all four wheels and tires of a vehicle off of the ground or floor so that there is sufficient clearance under the vehicle for a person to easily crawl under the vehicle to work on it, even if the vehicle is a street rod, muscle car, or other type of specialty car that is low slung and has a small ground clearance between the bottom of the vehicle and the ground when the vehicle is resting on a level ground. More specifically, the present invention employs a first set of ramps of extended length that have an extended elevated horizontal platform. A first set of vehicle tires located on one end of the vehicle is retained on the platform of the first set of ramps while the set of vehicle tires located on the opposite end of the vehicle are rolled onto an elevated platform on a second set of ramps that are placed on the opposite side of the second set of tires after the first set of tires are positioned at the terminal end of the first set of ramps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automobile enthusiasts who like to build or work on their own vehicles, such as people who own a street rod, muscle car, or other type of specialty car, need to be able to elevate all four wheels and tires of their vehicle completely off the ground or floor so that they can crawl under the vehicle to work on the underside of the vehicle. These people need to have a system that is inexpensive and portable and that is usable at their home or in their personal garage so that they can enjoy working on their vehicle during their spare time. The system for elevating their vehicle has to lift the vehicle a sufficient distance from the ground without causing the vehicle to drag the ground as the vehicle is driven onto or off of the equipment used to elevate the vehicle. This is particularly important for vehicles that are low slung and have small ground clearance between the bottom of the vehicle and the ground when the vehicle is resting on a level ground.
Various apparatus for lifting a vehicle off of the ground are currently in use. One popular apparatus for this purpose is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,346. This patent teaches a pair of ramps that are pivotally attached on one end of the ramps to an elevated base and the opposite second end of the ramps are alternately lowered to the ground so that a vehicle can be driven onto the ramps, as illustrated in FIG. 2 of the patent. Once the vehicle is positioned on the ramps, the second ends of the ramps are raised by means of a jack to sit on a movable leg pivotally attached at the second end. One of the problems with this type of apparatus is that the ramps and base are fairly heavy and can not easily be removed from the garage nor stored out of the way.
Also, various vehicle ramps for use with individual tires are in use. These vary from the basic vehicle ramps for individual tires as taught for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,300, to modifications on the basic vehicle ramp such as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,993,685; and 6,314,602. The basic ramp design consists of an inclined surface that allows a tire to be rolled up the inclined surface to reach either a flat or concave upper platform upon which the tire comes to rest. U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,685 adds an elongated web on the ground in front of the inclined surface to prevent the tire from scooting the ramp on the ground when the tire begins to engage the inclined surface. U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,602 teaches use of two sets of ramps so that all four tires of a vehicle can be simultaneously rolled onto the ramps. However, the ramps employed as the front set of ramps have to be modified to allow this type of usage. The front set of ramps are low profile and have the capability to be raised with a jack, as illustrated in FIG. 6 of the patent. If the front set of ramps where not low in profile, the automobile would high center on the front set of ramps as it was driven onto or off of the ramps.
The present invention allows all four tires of an automobile to be raised and lowered off of the ground by engaging the tires with special individual tire ramps without having to use jacks to lift the ramps and without danger of the ramps engaging the bottom of the vehicle when the vehicle is driving onto and off of the ramps.